Delivery vehicles for pressurized fuel and other liquids, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), propane, butane, and so on, typically include a large holding tank located rearwardly of the cab. A fuel sending unit is typically mounted on top of the tank and includes a float that rides on the surface of the liquid. The float is connected to a pivoting float arm which is in turn connected to the lower end of a driven shaft that rotates about its axis in response to float movement. A magnet is typically located at the upper end of the driven shaft for magnetically driving an indicator associated with a gauge head when the shaft rotates, to thereby display a liquid level condition of the tank to an observer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art gauge head 1 is shown mounted on a vertical wall 2 of a tank 3 associated with a delivery vehicle. The gauge head 1 includes a mounting base 5 mounted on the vertical wall 2 of the tank. An indicator dial 4 extends parallel with the vertical wall 2 of the tank. A bracket 6 extends between the mounting base 5 and indicator dial 4 for securing the mounting base and indicator dial together. As shown, the eye 7 of a user is below the level of the indicator dial 4, causing the user to look upwardly towards the indicator dial. Depending on the position of the pointer (not shown) on the face of the dial (not shown), level reading errors can occur because of the parallax effect, i.e. the actual position of the pointer with respect to the dial face is different from the user's point of view, due to the angle at which the user must observe the pointer and dial face. Accordingly, actual liquid level in the tank will be different from the observed liquid level on the indicator dial 4.
It would therefore be desirous to provide a simple, straight forward solution that would reduce or eliminate parallax reading errors while avoiding high development and manufacturing costs associated with redesigning the gauge head, fuel sending unit and/or tank.